I Am In Need Of A KonMari Intervention For My Books

A few months ago, I think it was, I noticed some twitter friends discussing decluttering and, being the eavesdropper that I am, I did not join in the conversation. However, I did take note that the method they were discussing was the KonMari method.

I have set a gaol of at least decluttering 100 books. You see, I have plans to possibly move in March and I refuse to move as many boxes of books as I did during my last move. So, it is time to let go and only keep books which spark joy.

Here are my before pictures. I will keep you guys updated as I KonMari the hell out of my books. I am thinking instead of piling every single book I own on the floor, I will do a shelf at a time as I also do not really spend weekends at my apartment.

April is 30 years old and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and baby, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

Comments

i did this a month ago to my shelves. Got rid of over 200! KonMari also says that you should read a book when it comes into your life. Try not to hang on to ones you haven’t read yet (unless a review is pending of course) & remember not to stop & read them. It makes the process take so much longer!

I did this a few months ago and, on the whole, it was an extremely positive experience. First, I thought about what I wanted to get out of my bookish possessions, and that is to be surrounded only by my favorites, to let go of the guilt that sometimes accompanies the keeping of an ARC I only half-liked, a signed book that I have outgrown, or books that make me feel bad because every time I look at them I am reminded to (re)read them but never do. So, in short, I wanted to get rid of a lot of guilt during my Konmari sessions. Realizing this big thing, plus researching good charities to donate my books, helped incredibly. I got rid of 20 boxes of books this way. Do I sometimes regret having let go of one or two books? Yes, but I can always buy them again when they are ready to renter my life. I intend to write some blog posts about a bibliophile’s guide to Konmari, so hope you stay tuned. 🙂Steph Su recently posted..The Worst Class You’ll Ever Dread Teaching

I am MUCH better about doing this these days, but I also moved across the country twice, and then moved 3 more times after that…so really need to get rid of some books. One thing to keep in mind is, if the book is several years old and you haven’t read and reviewed it by now, are you really going to? Because there will always be new exciting books you want to read, and you are certainly not lacking for ones being sent to you for that purpose, so if you aren’t excited about the old ones anymore, I would just say goodbye to them 🙂 That’s one thing I tried to keep in mind at least! My current stage is called read and donate. I donate at least 50% of the books I read once I’m done reading them, and although sometimes new ones come in, hopefully I’ll eventually end up with a more manageable bookshelf!

I remind my clients that books are the ultimate “reusable,” so you can feel good about letting them go. If you can’t decide on the sparking joy question, I recommend keeping books you love for sentimental reasons (belonged to my grandmother), are likely to read again, or want to use for display purposes. Keeping them for another person (e.g. children) often backfires.Seana Turner recently posted..Polly’s Snooze Button

I did a huge KonMari declutter of my clothes in January and will do another one this week-end (I’m doing follow-ups every time change week-end); but doing my book declutter over the Thanksgiving Week-end. I’m a book hoarder and it will be very difficult, so I’m looking forward to seeimh how you do! Good Luck!

So how did your bookish decluttering go? I’m intending to do this again for some of the books I’ve been keeping to reread one day but can’t even remember the title of, so I probably won’t reread them. Did you do 100 like you hoped?

The first time I decluttered my books, I pulled alllll my book boxes out and got rid of the classics I’d bought in a fit of guilt for not having read them, old college lit books I thought maybe I’d read again (hahahahaha NOPE), and books I only kind of liked but felt disinclined to get rid of in case I wanted to give them another chance. It was super freeing to put an entire box of books in the car (though I only got $26 at the secondhand store)!